Changes, enhancements at Scott Springs Park coming soon

The city of Ocala is doing upgrades to the Celebrate 2000 Park at Scott Springs Park to encourage positive activities at the park. They''re put in a walking trail, some benches and taking down the fence around the drainage retention area. They are adding a fence to the east perimeter as a security measure and clearing out brush to open up the area.

Published: Monday, July 22, 2013 at 6:11 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 22, 2013 at 6:11 p.m.

Correction: The city of Ocala acquired Scott Springs in 1997 with a$992,000 grant from the State of Florida’s Florida Communities Trust program. The owner at that time, Martin Greenberg Trust, donated $496,000, half of the purchase price as the city’s match. In 2000, the Star-Banner adopted the park for five years and donated $50,000 toward development costs in exchange for naming rights. The Star- Banner also paid $5,000 per year for four years toward maintenance. An earlier version of this article had incorrect information about the purchase of the park.

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Scott Springs Park is tucked away in a wooded area in Southwest Ocala and does not offer much in the way of amenities, but that is about to change. The city has plans to remove underbrush to open the park up visually, build a playground, and add a paved walking trail as well as benches and other enhancements.

"We always had plans to develop this park. Funding is available now," said Julie Johnson, the city's parks division head. "We are in the process of getting the park laid out."

Johnson is hoping the improvements also will take care of another problem. The park in the past has had reports of illegal sexual activity. The park is located at 2300 SW 24th Ave., behind the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries on Easy Street and north of Walmart.

"It's been reduced significantly. We have a lot of support from Ocala Police Department in ridding the park of that type of behavior," Johnson said. "When you create an atmosphere for positive activity, the negative leaves. We are very excited about it."

Deputy Police Chief Rodney Smith said that of the 112 calls for service at the park in the past year, four were for sex offenses, one for prostitution, one for stalking and one drug task force case. The largest majority of calls — 77 — were for security checks. He said his officers have conducted a few mini undercover operations there.

"It's about perception a lot of time. You have all those businesses there. It's not a bad area. When you clean it out, you will see better from the road. It will feel better," Smith said. "We will keep a check on them, like any other area that has spikes in crime."

Johnson said she hopes that once the brush is removed and amenities are added, more people will use the park from the neighboring Grand Reserve and Cala Hills developments. Right now, the site is being designed.

"We should have that finalized in the next couple of weeks," Johnson said. "Then we will start the project."

She said she hopes the bulk of the work will start in August and be completed by the end of September.

In addition to the other changes, the city will remove the fence around the retention pond and add new signs and trash receptacles. No big trees will be touched. A sum of $178,947 is budgeted for the work. The 22-acre park was aquired in 1997. The city has made some improvements to the park over the years by adding restrooms, paved parking and road, and a boardwalk that goes to a sinkhole and cave.

Sue McNeil sits in her car and eats lunch at the park every day.

"I like sitting in the shade and pleasant surroundings — peace and quiet," McNeil said Monday. "This is the only park in this end of town."

McNeil said on most days there are about a half dozen people at the park at lunch time. Some eat their lunches at the picnic tables. Others walk their dogs.

"Not many people know it's here," McNeil said.

On Monday, as dark clouds loomed over the park, Kevin Ernest, of Charles White Fence, Inc., was looking skyward trying to decide if he and his fellow workers should continue working or come back another day. They are installing a 6-foot black vinyl-coated fence that will blend in with the landscape at the east property line as part of the city's efforts.

The city has been trying to take down some of the fences around ponds and allowing the plants to grow a little higher. Those plants help filter the water before it percolates into the Floridan aquifer.

"We are trying to put water back into the ground as clean as it comes out of the sky," said Jess Knight, the city's stormwater division head. "That's our new thinking, to let some of the bottoms grow up."

When asked if there are any plans for the retention pond area, Knight said that is still up in the air.

The park also looks friendlier without the fences. However, those fences that people have been using as part of a fence around their property will not be taken down, Knight said.

<p><i>Correction: The city of Ocala acquired Scott Springs in 1997 with a$992,000 grant from the State of Florida's Florida Communities Trust program. The owner at that time, Martin Greenberg Trust, donated $496,000, half of the purchase price as the city's match. In 2000, the Star-Banner adopted the park for five years and donated $50,000 toward development costs in exchange for naming rights. The Star- Banner also paid $5,000 per year for four years toward maintenance. An earlier version of this article had incorrect information about the purchase of the park.</i></p><p>Scott Springs Park is tucked away in a wooded area in Southwest Ocala and does not offer much in the way of amenities, but that is about to change. The city has plans to remove underbrush to open the park up visually, build a playground, and add a paved walking trail as well as benches and other enhancements.</p><p>"We always had plans to develop this park. Funding is available now," said Julie Johnson, the city's parks division head. "We are in the process of getting the park laid out."</p><p>Johnson is hoping the improvements also will take care of another problem. The park in the past has had reports of illegal sexual activity. The park is located at 2300 SW 24th Ave., behind the La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries on Easy Street and north of Walmart.</p><p>"It's been reduced significantly. We have a lot of support from Ocala Police Department in ridding the park of that type of behavior," Johnson said. "When you create an atmosphere for positive activity, the negative leaves. We are very excited about it."</p><p>Deputy Police Chief Rodney Smith said that of the 112 calls for service at the park in the past year, four were for sex offenses, one for prostitution, one for stalking and one drug task force case. The largest majority of calls — 77 — were for security checks. He said his officers have conducted a few mini undercover operations there.</p><p>"It's about perception a lot of time. You have all those businesses there. It's not a bad area. When you clean it out, you will see better from the road. It will feel better," Smith said. "We will keep a check on them, like any other area that has spikes in crime."</p><p>Johnson said she hopes that once the brush is removed and amenities are added, more people will use the park from the neighboring Grand Reserve and Cala Hills developments. Right now, the site is being designed.</p><p>"We should have that finalized in the next couple of weeks," Johnson said. "Then we will start the project."</p><p>She said she hopes the bulk of the work will start in August and be completed by the end of September.</p><p>In addition to the other changes, the city will remove the fence around the retention pond and add new signs and trash receptacles. No big trees will be touched. A sum of $178,947 is budgeted for the work. The 22-acre park was aquired in 1997. The city has made some improvements to the park over the years by adding restrooms, paved parking and road, and a boardwalk that goes to a sinkhole and cave.</p><p>Sue McNeil sits in her car and eats lunch at the park every day.</p><p>"I like sitting in the shade and pleasant surroundings — peace and quiet," McNeil said Monday. "This is the only park in this end of town."</p><p>McNeil said on most days there are about a half dozen people at the park at lunch time. Some eat their lunches at the picnic tables. Others walk their dogs.</p><p>"Not many people know it's here," McNeil said.</p><p>On Monday, as dark clouds loomed over the park, Kevin Ernest, of Charles White Fence, Inc., was looking skyward trying to decide if he and his fellow workers should continue working or come back another day. They are installing a 6-foot black vinyl-coated fence that will blend in with the landscape at the east property line as part of the city's efforts.</p><p>The city has been trying to take down some of the fences around ponds and allowing the plants to grow a little higher. Those plants help filter the water before it percolates into the Floridan aquifer.</p><p>"We are trying to put water back into the ground as clean as it comes out of the sky," said Jess Knight, the city's stormwater division head. "That's our new thinking, to let some of the bottoms grow up."</p><p>When asked if there are any plans for the retention pond area, Knight said that is still up in the air.</p><p>The park also looks friendlier without the fences. However, those fences that people have been using as part of a fence around their property will not be taken down, Knight said.</p><p><i>Contact Susan Latham Carr at 867-4156 or susan.carr@starbanner.com.</i></p>